


The Tangled Webs We Weave

by Copiel



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Highschool AU, I'll add tags as l go, Keith and Shiro are Adoptive Siblings, Keith as Spiderman, M/M, Slow Burn, Spiderman AU, Team Voltron Family, broganes, klance, shallura - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2018-11-22 06:29:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11374485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Copiel/pseuds/Copiel
Summary: Keith Kogane lived life as a somewhat normal high school student, until one fateful day when a radioactive spider bit him, and he developed amazing powers. With his team of friends, he fights crime as Spiderman by night, and struggles through school by day. Blancing romance, homework, crime fighting, corporate schemes, past traumas, and villains is all in a day's work for Spidey!AKA the Voltron Spiderman AU I desperately needed.The violence warning and teen rating are just precautions, I don't expect anything too gruesome or explicit in the near future.





	1. The First Day of School

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to this Spidey AU! This is going to be kinda drawn out, as far as the main relationship goes, and I'm planning on this being a long story. I might come up with a schedule, but we'll see how things go. Hopefully this thing will turn out as good as it does in my head!  
> Buckle your seatbelts, because here we go!

_BEEP._

_BEEP._

_BEEP._

Keith rolled over and slammed his alarm clock off. He opened one eye, reading the time.

6:25 A.M.

He groaned, wanting nothing more than to roll over and go back to sleep. However, he knew that Shiro was more than capable of dragging him down the stairs, so he swung his legs off his bed and headed downstairs.

Shiro was already at the table, eating his usual three eggs and four sausages, with a protein shake. How he was even conscious enough to manage that was still a mystery to Keith. The most he could do was pour cereal into a bowl and shovel it into his mouth.

“Morning, Keith.”

Keith grunted.

“I can tell you're excited about school.” Shiro smirked at him, knowing the opposite was true.

Senior year started today at Midtown High, and the was no place on Earth Keith hated to go to more. High school was simply unbearable. Well, school in general, ever since he'd been labeled ‘the weird kid’ in third grade.

“There's still time for me to drop out,” Keith said around a spoonful of cereal.

Shiro chuckled. “I don’t think so. There's a reason your college fund is called a college fund.”

Keith sighed and began to clear away his dishes. “Yeah, well, things change.” He headed upstairs.

“Wear something a little nice!” Shiro called after him.

Keith settled for a short-sleeved button-up with his one pair of jeans that _weren't_ distressed. He dragged a comb through his hair and sprinted downstairs.

“Happy?”

Shiro glanced up from his phone. “Yeah. Have a good day.”

Keith scoffed. “Unlikely.”

* * *

One uneventful bus ride later, Keith was walking into Midtown High. He headed to the third floor, to the small alcove between the English rooms. His hangout spot.

“Hey, Keithy boy!”

And Pidge’s.

“Hey man!”

And Hunk’s.

“Sooo…” Pidge raised an eyebrow. “You boys ready to fuck shit up this year?”

“Pidge, we're honors students, we can't.”

Pidge sighed. “Once again, my dreams have been shot down. Anyway, Keith, gimme your schedule!”

Keith handed the paper over. “You guys doing anything tonight?”

Hunk shook his head. “It's syllabus week, literally the easiest week of the year. We'll be good to hang all week.”

“Yeah, my parents’ll be out of the house tonight for work, but Matt’ll be cool if we crash there.”

“Sounds good. So,” Keith glanced at the three schedules in Pidge’s hands. “What's the breakdown?”

“Hunk and I have AP Calc together second period, but you took regular - _shame on you._ You and Hunk have Economics third period. Then things get great: the three of us have AP English fourth period, so we'll inevitably have lunch together, and then we go straight to AP Physics together. After that, you're on your own for sixth period; Hunk and I have Programming.”

Hunk shrugged. “Could be worse.”

“Are you kidding?” Keith grinned. “This is better than I thought it would be.”

Hunk snorted. “Dude, your expectations were rock-bottom, that's not hard to beat.”

“Hunk, look, he actually _smiled._ ”

“Shut up, Pidge. I smile like every day!”

Pidge smirked. “I know.”

_Ddddding!_

Hunk sighed. “We'd better head to class. See you guys later.”

“Later.”

“Bye.” Keith headed back to the second floor. He glanced across the locker banks before his eyes landed on _him._

Lance McClain, one of the cutest boys in school. No, definitely _the_ cutest boy in school. Lance was leaning against a locker, talking to a pretty girl. She was either Florona or Plaxum; Keith wasn't sure. What he _was_ sure of was that he would give just about anything to talk to Lance like that.

A blonde girl tapped Lance on the shoulder and began engaging him in conversation. That was Nyma, one of the biggest bitches in the school, according to Keith. She was hanging off of her boyfriend, Rolo, one of the biggest douchebags he knew.

It was mainly those two that kept Keith from going up to Lance himself. They'd been part of the group that dubbed him the ‘weird kid’, and he hadn't gotten over the insecurities they had given him. So, he just continued sneaking glances from a distance until he made it to his Crime and Justice class.

Keith was actually looking forward to the class, and he did his best to listen to the teacher reading the syllabus, but his mind kept slipping back to Lance.

 _Is he still single?_ He knew that Lance's former boyfriend graduated last year, and he'd heard from some girls in his Chem class that Lance had broken things off early due to his boyfriend being a possessive jerk. Keith couldn't recall his name, and he couldn't remember ever seeing them together, so he had no idea who the guy even was. He only really knew due to the gossip that revolved around Lance, mostly stuff about how “I thought he had a girlfriend last year” or “Wait, is he gay now?”

Lance, of course, had handled it like a champ, explaining his bisexuality to anyone who dared to ask.

But then again, he'd almost always been the center of attention and playground scandal. Keith knew that Lance and Hunk had been childhood friends until Lance had moved to California, which earned him a swarm of kids who pestered him about the move. When he came back to New York in eighth grade, he amazed everyone with his stories of legalized weed and spotting celebs everywhere he looked, with pictures to prove everything.

Keith had almost immediately fallen in love with Lance. The confident, flirtatious boy had won him over easily. He was just about everything Keith was not, so of course Keith was undeniably attracted to him. It didn't help that he refused to consider anyone else for a crush, even when Lance _wasn't_ single-

“Keith? Keith Kogane?”

“Here!” Keith straightened up, torn from his thoughts.

His teacher chuckled. “Still tired, huh? Don't worry, I promise the material will get a lot more interesting in the following weeks.”

A good amount of students laughed, including Keith.

 _Maybe this year could_ actually _be good._

* * *

Keith and Hunk were walking to English when _it_ happened.

“Hey Hunk, hey Keith!”

Keith barely glanced up. People who talked to Hunk only acknowledged Keith out of politeness, except for Shay. She was actually nice.

Of course today was the exception.

“Hey Lance!” Hunk called back.

Keith's head whipped around. Lance was indeed walking down the hall behind them. He could feel an embarrassed flush rising on his face.

“That was _Lance_?!” Keith whisper-shouted.

Hunk chuckled. “Yeah, man. You know, he's always been pretty cool and nice. After he moved back he kept saying ‘hi’ during passing times or whatever. He still does, obviously.”

“Who does?” Pidge asked. She'd saved Keith and Hunk seats next to her.

“No one.”

“ _You-know-who._ ” Hunk said with a smirk.

Pidge got an evil grin on her face. “So, what happened?”

“ _Nothing!”_

“Lance said ‘hey’ to both of us and Keith here didn't even realize it.”

“Oooh, that's rough. But at least he acknowledged your existence!”

Hunk and Pidge were very aware of Keith’s hopeless crush on Lance, and had been for years. Most of the time they were chill about it, but sometimes they were just pains in his ass.

“Ya know, Keith, my buddy, my dude, you _could_ just grow a pair and go talk to him.” Pidge bumped his shoulder. “Hunk’ll be your wingman.”

“You know I can't do that. I still get anxious every time I get near Rolo and Nyma.” Keith buried his head in his hands. “God, I'm hopeless!”

“I'll say,” Pidge murmured.

Hunk scoffed. “As if! I have faith in you, buddy.”

“Thanks,” Keith mumbled.

Before they could move on to something other than Keith's hopeless love life, the teacher stepped in.

Roll call on the first day was always good for a laugh, especially with Hunk and Pidge in the class.

“Tsss...Sss..Tsssssyoooyoshi Garrett?”

A few snickers could be heard throughout the classroom.

“It's ‘Tsuyoshi’, but people call me Hunk.”

“Ah, yes, thank you, Hunk.”

All was quiet until-

“Katie Holt?”

“Here, but call me Pidge. Everyone else does. God knows why.”

A lot of kids were full-on laughing at this point, not really knowing how she got the nickname either.

Pidge had told Hunk and Keith the story countless times before. In kindergarten, when the teacher had been asking everyone to introduce themselves, she'd spotted a pigeon in the window and shouted “Pidge!” when she was asked what her name was. The name stuck when she went home, and through two skipped grades, much to her chagrin. Of course, people still called her Katie when they were being especially serious, like her parents.

Keith figured that she only kept it to mess with teachers every year, and he had to admire her dedication.

* * *

English, lunch, and Physics were all fine, and Keith managed to not burst out laughing at Pidge’s antics and Hunk’s frantic attempts to get her to behave. Pidge had gotten pretty pissed when their Physics teacher announced that they would be going on a field trip to Galra Labs on Friday. Permission slips were handed out to be completed ASAP, and Pidge damn near tore hers to shreds.

“They're just doing this for the positive buzz. Matt warned me about something like this, but I figured they'd just send us tablets or something.”

Hunk furrowed his eyebrows. “So, are you not going?”

Pidge scoffed. “Of course I have to go. Gonna steal all their intel, though,” she whispered.

Of course, their time together came to an end with the fifth period dismissal bell.

Keith sighed as he packed up his things and trudged to Calc. “See you guys later.”

“Yeah, I’ll text you when you should come over.” Pidge gave Keith a peace sign before turning around with Hunk and heading downstairs.

Keith stayed on the third floor, and walked past his Calc room a few times before walking in. He didn't want to be the first in the room; that would make things awkward for him.

“Welcome, name?” His teacher was an older woman, with a nasally voice.

“Keith Kogane.”

“Excellent, you'll be here.” She gestured to a desk on her clipboard with his name.

Keith nodded and went to his seat. About twelve other kids were already there, in varying stages of unfocus.

Keith's desk was one away from the wall opposite the teacher’s desk, somewhere in the middle.

 _Not bad,_ he thought. He decided to pull out his earbuds and discreetly hide them in his shirt so he could listen to something as the teacher explained the syllabus. He absentmindedly tapped his pencil on the desk to the beat of the song.

With only one earbud in, Keith could hear just about everyone who came into the classroom, but he tuned them out for the most part, until-

“Lance McClain.”

Keith’s heart skipped a beat. _Oh god he's in my class._ He wasn't sure if he was excited or terrified.

He glanced up as Lance walked in, and then looked away. He must've sat somewhere in the row over from Keith, because he was walking along the wall near Keith's desk. Not that he minded, he'd be perfectly happy staring at the back of Lance's head.

Keith could've sworn his heart stopped when Lance sat next to him.

_Shit._

Lance turned to Keith. “Hey, Keith. How's it going?”

“It's...going as good as school can go, I guess.”

Lance chuckled. “Good, good.”

Keith had never been more thankful for a teacher to start class than he had been at that moment.

_Fuck, I should've asked him how he's doing. Goddammit._

This was going to be a long year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback, as always, is appreciated!


	2. Field Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "No, I can't just talk to him! I tried today, it didn't turn out well! I always fuck up whatever's in my head and end up sounding like an idiot. Keith slumped over on the couch. "Kill me now."
> 
> Hunk and Pidge looked at each other.
> 
> "You handle this. I'm ordering pizza."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoooooooly shit, that took forever! Sorry about the long wait. I'm hoping the next chapter will be easier to write. Thanks for bearing with me. Enjoy!

Keith slumped down on his couch, letting out a sigh. He double checked his phone for a message from Pidge.

Nothing.

_God I need to tell someone. I can't deal with this on my own._

Unfortunately, Shiro wasn't home. He was probably still at work.

Not that Keith minded. He was fine with being the only one who knew his predicament, and how severely screwed he was for the rest of the semester.

He slammed a pillow over his face and screamed into it. It didn't do much to help.

Keith opened the group chat.

 **_Keith:_ ** _Pidge when are you gonna be ready?_

He turned his phone off and tossed it onto the couch. He wasn't about to sit around and mope while he waited for a text.

At least, not on an empty stomach.

His phone went off just after he took out his Hot Pocket, making him nearly drop it.

 **_Pidge:_ ** _Jfc now I guess calm ur tits_

Keith breathed a sigh of relief. His suffering would be over soon. Well, temporarily over, at least. Until tomorrow during sixth period.

Keith scarfed down his Hot Pocket before pulling on his helmet and climbing onto his bike.

He first found it abandoned in an alleyway, broken down and practically falling apart. After plenty of begging Shiro to let him keep it, a few years of repairs, and one red paint job later, Keith finally had something to drive around. Shiro often teased him about not knowing how to drive a car, but Keith didn't mind. His bike was all he needed.

Pidge only lived 20 minutes away from Keith, something he was forever grateful for, especially under circumstances like today.

He walked through the front door after stowing his bike besides the shed.

“Hey Keith.” Pidge didn't bother looking up from her laptop. Hunk just waved, his mouth full of popcorn.

“What are you guys watching?”

“We _were_ watching Star Wars, but something tells me you have something to tell us.” Hunk paused the movie.

“He's in my Calc class.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow. “I don't see how that's a problem.”

Hunk nodded. “Yeah, that's like the opposite of a problem.”

“He sits right next to me!”

“We're talking about Lance, right? Because I still don't understand how that could be a problem.” Pidge pushed her glasses up. “I mean, I _guess_  it could be an issue if you ignore him completely and throw away your chance of being friends.”

Keith groaned. “The issue is I'm _me._ I can't talk to him. How am I supposed to get through this?”

Hunk brightened up. “Well, you _could-”_

“No, I can't just talk to him! I tried today, it didn't turn out well! I always fuck up whatever's in my head and end up sounding like an idiot.” Keith slumped over on the couch. “Kill me now.”

Hunk and Pidge looked at each other.

“You handle this. I'm ordering pizza.”

Hunk sighed. “Listen, Keith, Lance is a nice guy. And a talkative guy, so you're gonna end up talking to him pretty much every day of Calc. Just let him do most of the talking. At least, just at first.”

Keith responded by turning Star Wars back on.

* * *

A half hour later, the pizza arrived. Keith was perfectly happy with munching on a slice of pepperoni while Hunk and Pidge debated whether or not pineapple belonged on pizza. They didn't stop until Matt walked through the door.

“Hey guys,” he said. He looked and sounded exhausted.

“Work sucked as usual, right?” asked Pidge.

Matt nodded. “I guess. Mostly, it's just from me running around all day. Plus, I screwed up Mr. Sendak’s coffee order, and let me tell you, he is not fun to be around without his coffee.” He sniffed the air. “Is that pineapple pizza?”

“Yes,” Pidge grumbled.

Matt grabbed a piece and slid down onto the floor with a sigh. “Keith, how's Shiro doing?” he asked between bites.

“Good. He's liking Altea Tech so far. He keeps talking about how he'll find a loophole to get you out of your internship.”

Matt chuckled. “I'm sure he is.”

“Hey Matt, what the hell do Galra Labs think they're doing inviting us on a field trip?” Pidge looked equal parts curious and pissed off. “I'm assuming that they just want a better public image.”

Matt shrugged. “That's the gist of it.”

“Do you know what we get to see there?” Hunk’s eyes lit up. “If we get to see a particle accelerator I'll be sooo psyched!”

Pidge shot him a dirty look.

“Not too psyched, because Galra Labs, but still,” Hunk murmured.

“Regardless of how this turns out, I can still wreak havoc.” Pidge smirked, typing furiously on her computer. “I always wanted to test this virus on them.”

“No, no, absolutely not. If they see you on the security cameras, they'll think you're me.”

Pidge huffed. “Curse our genetics!”

“I wanna see something explode.” Everyone turned to Keith. “What? It'd be cool.”

Hunk sighed. “Keith Kogane, you have _got_ to be the only person I know who would want to see an explosion at a building full of some of the world's most advanced technology.”

* * *

Wednesday and Thursday went by surprisingly well for Keith, even Calculus. He suspected it was because his teacher insisted on spending all of syllabus week explaining things for the whole class period. They hadn't even begun learning anything, except where the tissues were located and the teacher’s entire backstory.

Lance had said “Hey man” or “What's up?” before the teacher started, to which Keith responded “Hey” or “Not much,” which was what Keith preferred for now. Things were simple between the two of them, and Keith hadn't made a complete ass of himself yet.

The field trip on Friday was a nice change of pace. Even though the school year barely started, Keith was more than excited to miss a day of school in favor of doing literally anything else.

He, Pidge, and Hunk chatted for the entire bus ride, mostly about science-y things and Pidge’s plot to destroy Galra Labs.

When they stepped off the bus, Keith took a moment to observe the skyscraper. It was dark grey, almost black, with the words _Galra Tech_ in glowing purple letters.

Everyone was handed a visitor's pass, and then they were ushered inside. The interior was a lighter shade of grey, with people rushing about holding various files. The real excitement didn't begin until they went up a few floors to the visitor’s center. It was like a museum with interactive exhibits. A scientist greeted the students.

“Hello Midtown High! My name is Thace, and I'll be showing you around today. If you'll look around you, you'll notice some of the rich history of Galra Tech. We as an organization have long been engineers in the fields of biochemistry, particle physics, and engineering. Feel free to explore the exhibits for the next half hour before we meet up again for a more immersive tour.”

Pidge grabbed Keith and Hunk, practically dragging them towards an exhibit about anti-gravity equipment.

“God, I hate this bullshit.”

Hunk groaned. “Pidge, just leave it alone for now.  We're here, so enjoy yourself. Take pictures to steal their ideas, I don’t care.”

Keith ignored the rest of their conversation, choosing to check out the anti-gravity glider. Well, the miniature version, anyway. He pushed the button, and it lit up bright purple, floating up about six inches.

 _Pretty cool,_ he thought. He stuck his hand under it, feeling a slight breeze coming from the hovercraft. Probably from the thrusters.

He pushed the button again when it touched down, and stuck his hand back in.

“Hey, Keith!” Pidge called.

Keith turned to look. Pidge had found an exhibit with slime. She held a bit, and threw it into the display case. The slime hardened on impact. “Cool, huh?” she said, pulling out a small container with a mischievous grin.

“Pidge, you can't-” Hunk began.

He was interrupted by Keith yelling “OW!”

Keith felt a sharp pain on his hand. The hand in question was still halfway inside the exhibit, so he assumed that it got pinched by the miniature glider. Instead, he was met with a spider about the size of a quarter biting the back of his hand.

He smacked it, killing it instantly.

“Gross,” he said as he wiped it off of his hand. The now-squished spider fell to the ground.

Pidge was over there in an instant, with another small container. She used the lid to scoop up the spider, plopping it inside and screwing the lid on.

“Why are you keeping that?” Keith asked as he rubbed the bite.

“In case it kills you. Then we can sue Galra Tech.”

“Aw, Pidge, don't talk like that. It was just a little spider, right Keith?”

Keith just shrugged at Hunk. He was actually feeling a little off, now that he thought about it. Not bad, per se, but still...off.

The next part of the trip went by as a blur for Keith. No matter how much Pidge and Hunk tugged on his arms, he couldn't focus enough to remember much.

At lunchtime, Hunk offered to tell a teacher that Keith wasn't feeling well, but he refused, causing Hunk to go into his Mother Hen™ mode.

“Keith, if you're not feeling good then you might need to go to a hospital, this is serious, I mean, we don't even know what kind of spider it was-”

“Hunk, I'm probably just tired-”

“You're not even eating your lunch, there's gotta be something wrong.”

Keith took a bite of his sandwich. “Happy?”

Hunk huffed. “Not really.”

For the remainder of the tour, Hunk hovered over Keith, only leaving his side when Pidge tried to steal or sabotage equipment.

By the time they got back to the school buses, Keith was just about ready to take a nap. Pidge slid next to him, and Hunk took the seat in front of them.

“Dude, please tell me you're planning on sleeping.”

“Yeah," Pidge chimed in, surprisingly sympathetic. “You look like shit.”

Keith didn't bother responding.  He just laid his head on the window and fell asleep.

* * *

Keith woke up to Pidge shaking his shoulders. “We're back. Get up.”

He groaned. “I think I actually feel worse.”

Hunk gave a sympathetic frown. “Well, you can go home now. And it's the weekend, so you have two days to beat this bug.”

“If it _is_ a bug.” Pidge smirked. “Personally, I hope you're mutated beyond recognition so we can sue-”

“Yeah, yeah, I'll call you if I grow an extra arm.” Keith yawned as he stood up. “If I'm awake.”

Keith almost fell asleep on the bus ride home, but managed to stay awake by texting Hunk and Pidge. When he got home, he threw his backpack on the ground and crashed onto the couch. He was out in no time.

He woke up to Shiro shaking him awake.

“Hey, how was the field trip?”

Keith yawned. “Tiring.”

Shiro chuckled. “I can tell.” When Keith rolled over to fall back asleep, Shiro jerked his shoulders again. “Nope, if you're gonna sleep, head upstairs. I don't wanna  have to move you later.”

Keith nodded vacantly. He stood up, stumbling to the stairs and heading up slowly.

“You're not sick, are you?” Keith glanced back to see Shiro’s concerned face looking at him.

“Probably not.”

Shiro sighed. “Text me if you feel worse.”

Keith nodded again, and finished the climb up the stairs. He flopped onto his bed, staying conscious long enough to pull his blankets over his body. The second his eyes closed, he fell asleep.

He didn't wake up again, not even when Shiro checked on him before going to bed himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone else crying over the SDCC reveals? I realized I wrote Lance saying "Hey man" in here before it was shown there, and I'm screaming.  
> August 4th can't get here soon enough.


	3. New Day, New Keith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Keith?" came a tired voice. "It is way too early for this kind of shit, so you better have a fucking emergency on your hands."
> 
> "Pidge, I think that spider bite is affecting me. Can you come over and help? Everything is sticking to me and I don't know what's happening."
> 
> "Holy _shit!_ " Keith could hear a lot of fumbling in the background. "I'm on my way. Gotta grab Hunk and some equipment. Be there soon!"

Keith blinked his eyes open. He yawned, stretched, and looked at the time.

8:25.

He groaned. He didn't usually get up so early on the weekends, but he suspected that his early night yesterday had something to do with it. He lay in bed for a few more moments before getting up and heading down.

Shiro was already done with breakfast, and was watching the news. "Morning, Keith." He didn't even turn around.

"Morning." Keith yawned again as he grabbed the Lucky Charms. He blearily set a bowl, a spoon, and a glass of orange juice at his spot, and poured himself some breakfast.

He noticed the back of his hand had no sign of being bitten. _Strange_ , he thought. _There should be at least a scab there, or something_. "Hey, Shiro?"

"Hmm?"

"Should I still have a spider bite if I just got bit yesterday?" Keith took a bite of his cereal.

"I would think so. Why do you- wait, no, let me guess. You got bit by a spider yesterday?"

"Yeah" Keith said around a mouthful of cereal.

"How big was it?"

Keith held his thumb and index finger in a circle. "About that big."

Shiro furrowed his eyebrows. "You should definitely have something there. Which hand?"

Keith held up his right hand.

"Let me take a look."

He walked over to Shiro.

"You can leave the spoon."

"What?" Keith looked down. Sure enough, the spoon was in his hand. Actually, now that he looked at it, the spoon was _sticking_  to his hand. "Ha ha, very funny. Did you use superglue or something?"

"No, of course I didn't." Shiro poked at the spoon, which was stuck to the upper part of Keith's palm. "This is weirding me out."

" _You're_  telling _me_! I'm the one with the spoon stuck to him!" He shook his arm wildly, trying to get it off. "Let _go_!"

And off it flew. It clattered against the kitchen wall, leaving a dent.

Keith and Shiro sat in silence, staring at the dent and then each other.

"Holy shit," Shiro whispered.

"I'm gonna go get dressed," Keith mumbled, clearing away his dishes and cautiously picking up the spoon before tossing it into the sink.

Keith managed to get his clothes on without a problem, _thank god_. He didn't want to think about what would've happened if Shiro had to intervene.

The bathroom was a different story. When he grabbed a washcloth to wash his face, he couldn't put it back down. The same went for his toothbrush. And his comb. And the bathroom rug, because apparantly whatever was happening to his hands was also happening to his feet.

 _Crash!_ "Shiro!"

Shiro bolted up the stairs and almost laughed at the sight before him: Keith on the floor with various toiletries stuck to him. "What the hell is happening?"

"I don't know, but it's freaking me out!" Keith struggled to get up. "Is there something wrong with me?"

"I don't think so. Are you in any pain?"

Keith shook his head.

"It's probably nothing, but who knows? Maybe you're the next 'Magnet Boy.'" Shiro gave him a smile. "If it makes you feel better, we can head to the doctor."

"No way, I'm not sick." Keith thought for a moment. "Unless I am. Can you call Pidge for me?"

He helped Shiro unlock his phone, then put Pidge on speaker. "Keith?" came a tired voice. "It is way too early for this kind of shit, so you better have a fucking emergency on your hands."

"Pidge, I think that spider bite is affecting me. Can you come over and help? Everything is sticking to me and I don't know what's happening."

She was quiet for a moment. "Can you put Shiro on?"

"I'm right here."

"Good. He's not hallucinating, is he?"

Shiro snorted. "Nope. He's literally stuck to half of the bathroom right now."

"Holy _shit!_ " Keith could hear a lot of fumbling in the background. "I'm on my way. Gotta grab Hunk and some equipment. Be there soon!"

* * *

"What the fuck?" Pidge said.

She was staring at Keith, a dumbfounded expression on her face. Hunk stood to the side, fidgeting with his shirt. He at least looked _somewhat_  concerned.

Pidge leaned forward, tugging at the washcloth. "So this doesn't hurt?"

"Nope."

She scrunched up her eyebrows. "You were able to get the spoon off earlier, right?"

"He was." Shiro gestured to the dent in the wall.

Hunk let out a low whistle. "Wow, did you fling it off? Maybe that's the trick to get everything off."

Keith shook his wrists, but nothing happened. "I also said 'let go', so do you think it's a verbal command sort of thing?"

Pidge shook her head. "If that were true, everything would've fallen off the moment you said that." She played with a lock of her hair. "But what if it's a mentality thing? Like, you have to think 'let go' for it to happen."

"What do you think I've been doing for the past 30 minutes?"

"Well, try relaxing. Maybe you're too stressed. Try some deep breaths." Hunk inhaled and exhaled dramatically.

Keith nodded. At this rate, he'd do just about anything to free up his hands. He inhaled, held it, then exhaled slowly.

He felt something inside him change, almost like a switch, and then everything fell to the floor. He grinned. "Finally!"

"What did you do?" Pidge asked.

"Just what Hunk said to do. I relaxed."

Pidge narrowed her eyes. "I think there's more to it than that." She reached into her backpack, and pulled out one of her microscopes, plugging it in and setting it up on the counter. "Give me your hand."

Keith complied, and Pidge stuck his hand under the lens. She focused it for a moment. "Guys, look at this."

Shiro was the first to peer through. "Are those...hairs?"

"Yes. Microscopically small barbed hairs, and I think they're what's causing this whole situation."

"Isn't this what a lot of bugs have?" Hunk looked up from the microscope. "It's what helps them to stick to walls and stuff. Now that I think about it, spiders have them too. Do you think-?"

"The spider bite from yesterday caused this? Probably."

Keith leaned over to have a look at his hand. Small black hairs were all over his palm, or at least, the tiny part he could see through the microscope. When he looked at his other hand, he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. He couldn't feel them, either. "So, how do I get this under control? I can't risk going to school if I get stuck to everything."

"I suppose it's like any muscle," Shiro said. "You need to exercise it to gain more control and precision."

"Alright, then. Let's take this outside." Keith didn't bother pulling on shoes before heading into the alley behind his house. "Do you think I could use it to climb a wall, like bugs do?" he asked once everyone had assembled in front of him.

"I'm sure you can, but we don't want you getting stuck." Shiro thought for a moment. "Maybe you should try, I don't know...flexing them? You know what I mean?"

Keith nodded. "Like, grabbing on and letting go. I think I can do that."

He started by flexing his hand, but he didn't feel any different. He put it on the wall, but it didn't stick.

Keith grumbled, and tried again. This time, he just tried tensing his hand a bit, while concentrating on the small hairs. His hand stuck to the wall. He smiled, then concentrated on releasing, relaxing his hand until it unstuck from the wall.

"I think I've got the hang of it."

"Alright. Just be careful," Shiro warned.

Keith nodded. He pressed his hands to the wall over his head, stuck them, then placed his feet on the wall.

He turned to look at his friends. Pidge and Hunk had their mouths hanging open, and Shiro's eyebrows had disappeared into his hair.

He turned back to the task at hand. He carefully unstuck his right hand, reached higher, and stuck it. He did the same to his left foot, then his left hand, then his right foot. It was slow going at first, but he sped up as he got higher.

At the top, he clambered over the ledge onto the roof. "I think I'm getting the hang of this!"

"I'll say!" Hunk shouted up.

"Can you make it back down?" Shiro called.

Keith nodded, and leaned over the ledge, sticking his hands to the wall. He could hear someone, probably Hunk, gasp as he started down the wall head first. Going down was much faster than up, and when he reached the bottom, he pushed off the wall, flipping before landing on the ground.

"That was incredible!" Pidge shouted.

"You're not even breaking a sweat," Hunk said, amazed.

"Do you think he has super strength too?" Shiro examined one of Keith's biceps. "You don't seem any different. Physically, at least."

"Pick me up!" Pidge said.

"I could do that before."

"No, like, hoist me over your head. Like you're dead lifting me."

Keith shrugged, but placed one of his hands on Pidge's upper back, the other on her butt.

"Sorry about this."

"Keith, you're literally gay as hell. I'm not concerned about a little booty action from you of all people."

Hunk snickered, as did Shiro.

"Shut up!" Keith lifted Pidge up to his chest, readjusted his hands, and pushed her over his head.

“Don't you dare drop me I swear to god-”

“Stop squirming then!” Keith stuck his hands to her, just in case.

“Dude, does she even weigh anything to you?” Hunk was gaping at this point.

“Yeah, of course she does. It's just that...I don't know, it's not as much as it used to be. I don't really know how to describe it.”

Shiro was looking over Keith's posture. “You're not even shaking yet. Is this even straining you?”

“I don't think so.” Keith set Pidge down.

“Do me next!” Hunk stepped forward.

“Hold on, Hunk. It’d be easier for him to drop you or topple over. Let's go try out the bench press.”

Once inside, Shiro loaded up his bench press with 100 pounds on each side. “Try that out for starters.”

Keith nodded, gripped the bar, and pushed up. The dumbbell went up and back down without a problem. “That didn't feel like hardly anything.”

Shiro narrowed his eyes. “Okay, let's step it up.” They went from 100 to 225 on each side, and Keith still hadn't broken a sweat. “That's all the weights we have.” Shiro looked amazed. “You lifted 450 pounds and didn't bat an eye!”

Keith thought for a second. “Why don't you and Hunk hang off the sides?”

“With the weights too?” Shiro sounded concerned.

“I should be fine. How much do you guys weigh?”

“We're both over 200 pounds, I think.” Hunk thought for a moment. “I'm around 220.”

Shiro frowned. “I'm 180 something. This won't work when we're different weights.”

“He can just hold closer to Hunk. It's like with fulcrums.” Pidge shifted Keith's hands over a bit. “If you hold here, you should be good.”

“Alright. Get on” Shiro and Hunk straddled the weights, holding on tightly.

“Don't overdo it,” Shiro warned.

Keith grunted as he pushed up. His arms were feeling the burn, although he couldn't tell if it was because of the extra 400 pounds or the exertion from lifting so much. Even so, he managed to fully lift the barbell and set it back down slowly, only breathing a bit harder than normal.

“Keith, that was over 800 pounds!” Hunk said, feet now on the ground. “Dude, that's incredible!”

Shrio shook his head, a smile on his face. “I can't believe it. You can lift more than me, and you're still a shrimp!”

Keith scowled. “I'm a shrimp who can probably dead lift your ass.”

“Point.”

Pidge grabbed Keith’s arm. “Let's see what else you can do."

Over the course of the day, they learned that Keith's sight and hearing had been enhanced as well. He was faster (though not superhumanly so, according to Hunk), more agile, and his reflexes were almost impeccable.

By the end of the day, Keith was exhausted, prompting Shiro to send Pidge and Hunk home.

"We'll finish this tomorrow!" Hunk shouted.

"Yeah, I have a few...ideas." Pidge smirked.

"Bye, guys." Keith closed the door and yawned. "What's for dinner?"

"The leftover pizza from lunch. I'm worn out too." Shiro popped a few pieces in the microwave. "So..."

Keith raised his eyebrows. "So?"

"Are you finally gonna go out for sports? I'm sure it's not too late to join something."

"Of course not! I can't now, not ever."

"Why not?" Shiro set the pizza in front of Keith.

"It'd be too suspicious. Besides, I don't have any friends who do sports."

"Well, you're supposed make friends once you join," Shiro said behind a mouthful of pizza.

Keith shrugged. "I'm fine with Hunk and Pidge."

"Fair enough." Shiro took another bite. "I still think you should do _something_  with your..."

"Powers?"

"Sure. All I'm saying is, don't let them go to waste. Join the army, or the navy, hell, you could be a marine at this rate-"

"Or a police officer?"

Shiro ruffled Keith's hair. "Still wanna be an officer, huh? Even after all these years?" He stood up, clearing away his dishes. "Whatever you end up doing, just make sure you're proud of it."

Keith gave Shiro a small smile. "I will."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot woot! An update that didn't take a month! I'm hyped as hell for season 3 tomorrow, so...yeah that's my Friday I guess. As I'm sure it will be for so many of us :).  
> As usual, hope you enjoyed!


	4. Super Thrift Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "And I realized that you could be a real-life superhero!" Pidge beamed at Keith.
> 
> Keith gaped. "Are you two out of your minds?!"
> 
> "No, of course not!" Pidge angrily sipped her smoothie. "You probably won't even be classified as a superhero, most likely a vigilante."
> 
> "But dude, it all works! You have your powers, origin story, tragic backstory, two tech savvy sidekicks, and a name!"
> 
> "You guys gave me a name already?"

Sunday morning began as usual for Keith, minus his knowledge of his abilities. He was looking through the homework he missed from Friday when his phone vibrated.

 _ **Pidge**_ : _Get out here_

 ** _Keith_** : _what_

 _ **Pidge**_ : _we're here_

 _ **Hunk**_ : _In my van_

Keith glanced out the front window. Hunk's van was indeed parked in front of his house. Keith pulled on some shoes and headed towards it.

He tapped on the passenger side window. It rolled down, revealing Pidge.

"Why are you here?"

"I told you I had some ideas yesterday, didn't I?" Pidge took a sip of a green smoothie. "If you come with us, we'll give you Jamba Juice."

"Watermelon?"

"You know it, dude. Now get in!" Hunk took a sip of his yellow smoothie while revving his engine.

Keith climbed into the back of the van, sending Shiro a text that he'd be home at a reasonable time. He sipped at his smoothie. "So, what do you guys want?"

"What are you talking about? Pidge and I just wanted to treat you to some fruity goodness."

"Yeah, right. You guys only get me food to convince me to join you on your escapades." Keith took another sip of the smoothie. "I mean, it works, but still. I know when I'm being used."

Hunk held his fingers off of the steering wheel in a placating gesture. "You got us."

"Okay, so where are we going?"

Pidge smirked. " _We_ are going thrift shopping."

"Why?"

Pidge and Hunk shared a look.

"You tell him, it was your idea."

"It was not!" Hunk glared at Pidge before turning back to the road. "Okay, maybe the initial concept, but _you're_  the one who wanted to make it actually happen!"

"What is _it_?!"

"Well," Pidge took a breath. "On the drive home yesterday, I was thinking how since you have super strength and grippy powers, you could probably kick ass on a show like American Ninja Warrior or Wipeout. Then Hunk said-"

"I said that you're too superpowered and you'd probably be accused of cheating, since you're basically superhuman. And then Pidge said 'That's it' and-"

"And I realized that you could be a real-life superhero!" Pidge beamed at Keith.

Keith gaped. "Are you two out of your minds?!"

"No, of course not!" Pidge angrily sipped her smoothie. "You probably won't even be classified as a superhero, most likely a vigilante."

"But dude, it all works! You have your powers, origin story, tragic backstory, _two_  tech savvy sidekicks, and a name!"

"You guys gave me a name already?"

"Mmhmm! We're calling you Spiderboy!" Pidge said with a flourish of her hands.

"Personally, I'm more geared towards 'The Man-Spider' myself. More dark and mysterious. But it's up to you, I guess." Hunk looked over his shoulder as he backed into a parking spot.

Keith shook his head in disbelief. "You two are crazy. I...I can't. Not ever. Shiro would kill me, if I don't get myself killed first."

Hunk smiled. "That's why we're here! To get you a costume. Hide your identity and no one needs to know! Well, besides me and Pidge. And, now that I think about it, Shiro would figure it out pretty fast, since he knows about your powers."

"Listen, Keith, what else are you going to do with these powers? Really think about it." Pidge stared straight at Keith. "I know there's no way in hell you'd go out for sports, so what else is there, really? You can't just not use your powers, you'd go crazy. Think about all the good you can do."

Keith thought for a while. His whole life, he'd been helpless as loved ones were taken from him or hurt. _But if I could prevent it from happening to someone else?_

"Alright, I'm down."

Pidge and Hunk smiled.

"Alright alright alright! Let's go boys!" Pidge shot out of the van, Keith and Hunk close behind.

"No offense, Pidge, but I don't think Goodwill is going to have a superhero costume laying around."

"Oh fuck no it won't. We're gonna have to improvise."

"But what are we looking for?" Keith lowered his voice now that they were inside.

"We'll know it once we see it," Hunk assured him.

Not ten minutes into their search, Hunk called out "Guys, over here!" He was holding a mostly red hoodie with navy blue on the back and sides of the torso. "So, whaddya think?"

"Isn't it a little...colorful?"

"Pfft, no way. All the greats have colorful costumes, or at least, they did at one point. Besides, it's mostly your favorite color!"

Keith shrugged. "I guess, but I don't want to fight baddies in a hoodie."

"Your powers will keep you safe. Besides, I already found these sweatpants that would match." Pidge tossed Keith a pair of navy blue pants.

"Pidge, these are practically leggings!"

She shrugged. "You gotta be able to move and not get caught on things. They'll do the trick. Go try them on quick!"

Keith obeyed, and soon Pidge and a strategically placed Hunk were looking over the costume.

"Not bad, not bad at all." Hunk smiled.

"Yeah, well, the pants feel kinda awkward."

Pidge shook her head. "It's either that or jeans."

Keith threw his hands up. "Fine! I'll keep it!"

Hunk clapped his hands. "Yay! Now we gotta find the rest!"

A few minutes later, they found a red ski mask and decided that was enough for one store. They checked out and headed to a military surplus center, where they picked up some sleek goggles "with night vision!" Pidge exclaimed. Satisfied with their findings, they headed back to Pidge's house.

Keith tried on the whole ensemble. "It looks kinda stupid with the goggles and the ski mask."

"Not a problem, I have an idea." Pidge took the ski mask, turned it to the back, and cut out eyeholes there. She pushed the eyepieces of the goggles through, hot glueing the nosepiece to the mask. "Try that."

It looked a hell of a lot better, he'd give her that. But his hair stuck out the back through what used to be the face hole.

Hunk grabbed some pins and pinned the hood to the top of the ski mask. "I am loving this. We should become costume designers instead of engineers."

Pidge snorted. "Nope. Not happening. But try the whole thing on one more time."

Keith emerged from the bathroom, his costume mostly complete. "I need gloves and shoes."

"Why? You don't have to worry about fingerprints or anything, they're not in the system."

"Yeah, but if I'm gonna be a cop eventually..."

"Oh. Right." Hunk chewed on his lip. "But how else are you supposed to climb walls?"

Pidge tossed a pair of stretchy cloth gloves at Keith. "Try sticking with those."

Keith pulled the gloves on and tried it. "It works through the gloves!"

Pidge nodded. "I figured it would. The gloves have small holes in the weaving, just from the way they were made. Your hairs can fit through that. Boom! Problem solved."

"What about shoes? I don't think it'll work through the soles."

"You might have to go with socks."

"Pidge, that's going to hurt my feet."

"Thick socks?" offered Hunk. He had a long pair of red soccer  in his hands.

"What about swim shoes? We could take the soles off, and it should be thin enough. Hopefully." Pidge ran upstairs. When she came back down, she had a pair of black swim shoes. "They were my dad's, but he doesn't use them anymore. At least, I don't think he does." She tossed the shoes to Hunk, who began peeling the sole off.

"Try this out," he said, tossing them to Keith.

Keith pulled the shoes on. "They're a little big, and there's not enough support, but they'll work for now." He pushed his foot on the wall. "It sticks, too!"

"Excellent. Hunk, can you sew the hood to the ski mask? I gotta dig out something."

"Go ahead." Hunk began working on the hood.

Keith grabbed the soccer socks, and found that if he wore them, the shoes fit better. It was also more comfortable.

Ten minutes later, Pidge reappeared with a spider.

"What's that for?" Keith asked.

"For the front of the hoodie. It's iron-on, so it should go on easy."

"Oh, awesome! It's your logo!" Hunk shook Keith's shoulder. "If you ever work with the police, that can be like your spider-signal that shows in the sky!"

Keith squinted at the spider. "So, did you just have that lying around, or...?"

"Yeah, it's from Halloween about five years ago. I'm just glad we still have it." Pidge sat on the floor, laying the hoodie in front of her. She stuck her tongue between her teeth in concentration, running an iron over the spider a few times before holding the hoodie up. "Voila!"

"Try it on, try it on!" Hunk chanted.

So, Keith tried on the whole costume. Seeing himself in the mirror, he realized how ridiculous he looked. The hoodie, the mask, and especially the way his pants were tucked into the socks.  _This looks like a shitty cosplay._ He stepped out of the bathroom regardless.

Pidge and Hunk were pleased, to say the least.

"Not bad for some highschool kids, huh?" Pidge held out her fist.

"Not bad at all." Hunk fist bumped her. "Can you cling to the wall or something?"

Keith obliged him. "Doen't it look kinda stupid?"

"Nah. You'll be so busy kicking ass no one will notice. Besides, with all of the upgrades Pidge and I want to make, you'll be unstoppable."

"Upgrades?"

"Change out of the suit, then we'll talk." 

* * *

 Keith reemerged from the bathroom in his usual attire.

"So, what upgrades were you thinking about?"

"Gimme the suit and I'll explain it to you." Keith walked over to Pidge, and let out a screec. He dropped the suit on her head and fell over, clutching his foot.

"What the _fuck_ Keith-"

"Keith what happened?"

"My fucking foot hit the iron!" He let out a hiss as he removed his hands. The side of his foot was a bright, angry red.

"I'll grab some ice," Hunk yelled, thundering down the hall.

"You should've watched where you were going," Pidge scolded. "But, I guess I should've turned the iron off."

"You _guess?_ "

"Catch!"

Keith caught the icepack without looking. He sighed with relief the instant it touched the burn. "Okay, now, what are you two cooking up?"

Pidge smirked. "Well, for starters..."

She and Hunk detailed their ideas for webshooters, with synthetic webs they would concoct based on the formula of the goop Pidge stole on their field trip. Depending on how strong the webbing ended up being, he could use it to string people up or, as Hunk had joked, "make a web." They also mentioned an in-ear transmitter so they could communicate with Keith and vice-versa. Keith almost drew the line at a GPS tracker, but decided against it, since it could come in handy if he ever got lost.

They got cut off by Keith's phone buzzing. "It's Shiro. I should get going."

"I'll drive you. Do you need a hand getting to the car?"

"Huh?" Keith accepted a bag full of his costume from Pidge.

"Your burn. You won't want to put a shoe on that."

Keith shrugged. "It doesn't even hurt that much." He peeked under the ice pack, and his jaw dropped.

"What? Are you oozing anything vaguely radioactive?" Pidge was craning her neck to see the damage.

"No, it's... it's _gone_."

"Gone?!" Pidge and Hunk shouted in unison.

Sure enough, there was no sign of a burn on Keith's foot.

"Accelerated healing factor." Hunk shook Keith's shoulder. "You just keep getting more and more awesome!"

Keith nodded. "Well, it explains why I didn't have a spider bite."

Pidge grinned. "Good thing you have that healing factor. It'll cover up bruises and cuts really well."

Keith grimaced. “You said that with _way_ too much enthusiasm.”

“Whatever. I'll see you guys tomorrow.”

“Ditto.” Hunk climbed into his van.

“Bye!”

On the ride home, Keith couldn't help but feel nervous about the whole superhero idea. He wasn't particularly keen to get himself hurt or killed, and he definitely didn't want to find out Shiro’s reaction to his new activity.

  
_Guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally see the beginnings of Spider-Keith! He'll get a real costume eventually, but I wanted to take a stab at what I think a homemade superhero costume would look like based on a high schooler's budget. I tried to make it the same as the movie costume, but with a full hoodie instead of the vest+undershirt combo. I hope it all makes sense.  
> We'll get some Spidey action soon! Thanks for reading!


	5. Gadgets and Gizmos and Social Awkwardness Aplenty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He looked over to see Lance motioning for him to take his earbuds out. Keith paused his music and pulled one bud out.
> 
> "What'cha listening to?"
> 
> Keith thanked whatever higher power existed that he wasn't listening to _The Black Parade_.

When Keith met up with Pidge and Hunk before school, he was surprised when Pidge tossed a plastic baggie at him.

"What's this?" Keith squinted at the small object in the bag. It looked like an earbud, minus the wires.

"It's a communicator. It lets you talk to me and Hunk when you're out and about." Pidge looked proud of herself. "We can give you directions and whatnot."

"You made this last night?!"

"Pfft, no. Matt brought a couple duds home from work, and I fixed them."

"Pidge, that's incredible!" Keith gazed at the earpiece in awe.

The bell rang, and Keith shoved it into his backpack. "I'll see you guys later, okay?"

"See ya!" Hunk called.

On his way to class, Keith glanced over the locker banks, searching for Lance. He spotted him in his usual spot, this time talking to a girl with dark braids.  _Plaxum, I think. Unless she's Florona?_ It didn't really matter, since Lance was laughing hard something she said. His eyes were scruched shut, and he could hear him across the locker bank, over everyone else.

He looked away when he ran into a door.

* * *

Class went by as usual. At lunch, Pidge handed Keith a small black rectangle.

"GPS tracker. So we don't lose you."

Keith held the plastic tracker between his fingers. "When did you do this?"

"During Astronomy. I was bored, so I repurposed a phone's GPS. I tinkered with it a bit, and Hunk's gonna make a program that lets us see where you are on a map."

"But just us, so the government can't track you down," Hunk added.

Physics was mostly normal, save for the teacher asking Keith if he was ever sick on the field trip. Keith passed it off as eating some bad food at lunch, and the teacher didn't ask any other questions.

Calculus was a whole different story. Keith sat in his spot in nervous anticipation, as usual.

"Hey, Keith."

Keith briefly made eye contact with Lance. "Hi."

The bell rang, and Keith was thankful that he didn't have to do any more talking. Sitting and listening to the teacher explain the lesson was much easier. Sure, he got distracted by the doodles Lance made in his notes, but he still managed to take good notes of his own.

The teacher finished the lesson with twenty minutes left of class, which she declared work time, meaning kids would talk while she looked at her e-mails. Keith put in his earbuds, got his music on shuffle, and got to work. He got through five problems before he felt tapping on his shoulder.

He looked over to see Lance motioning for him to take his earbuds out. Keith paused his music and pulled one bud out.

"What'cha listening to?"

Keith thanked whatever higher power existed that he wasn't listening to _The Black Parade_. "ACDC."

"Oh, cool. Can I ask you something else?"

Keith felt his chest tighten. "Go ahead."

"Are you one of those people who's, like, obsessed with the 80's?"

"No...why would you think that?"

Lance's face turned pink with an embarassed flush. "I dunno, probably just because of the music and your hair."

"My hair?" One of Keith's hands instinctively touched the tips of his hair.

"Yeah, it's a mullet, right? People wore mullets all the time back then."

 _Shit, is it really a mullet?_  "I didn't realize it was a mullet, I just thought it was kinda long."  
  
Lance studied Keith's hair. "Nah, it's definitely classified as a mullet. But it's not an obvious mullet. It looks fine on you."

Keith gave Lance a small smile. “Thanks.”

Lance grinned back. “I like some 80’s music too. Mostly pop. The classics, y’know?”

Keith nodded.

“Yeah, I get it from my mom, mostly. She used to play it when I was younger.” He looked at Keith for a moment. “You definitely look like more of a rock dude. Do your parents listen to it, and that's how you got into it?”

“Kind of. My dad used to listen to it whenever he'd fix up his bike, and I'd watch him work on it.” Keith rubbed the back of his neck. “It definitely brings back good memories.”

Lance furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean? Did your parents get divorced?”

“No, they're dead,” Keith deadpanned.

Lance chuckled before catching Keith’s serious expression. “Wait, you're not being sarcastic?”

Keith shook his head.

“Oh my god! I'm so sorry, I totally just disrespected your dead parents! Christ, I'm an asshole!”

Keith started laughing, which stopped Lance’s apologetic rant. “No, no no no, it happened when I was younger. I'm pretty much over it now.”

“Are you sure?” Lance didn't look convinced.

“Positive.”

_Ddding!_

Keith began gathering up his things.

“Well, if any spirits start messing with me tonight, I'll assume it's your parents giving me what I deserve.”

“I guess so.”

They both headed towards the door.

“So, who do you live with now?”

“Hmm?” Keith was too busy processing that _the_ Lance McClain was walking with him.

“Who's your guardian? Or do you have foster parents?”

“It's- “

He was cut off by Nyma yelling “Lance!”

“-complicated. I gotta go this way. Bye!” Keith took off down the wrong stairs. Sure, he wouldn't get as good a seat on the bus, but at least he wouldn't have to deal with Nyma.

* * *

 Keith had just started eating a hot pocket when his phone buzzed.

 **_Pidge:_ ** _Can u come over_

 **_Pidge:_ ** _bring the suit_

 **_Keith:_ ** _k_

He sighed, but stuffed his suit into his backpack. He sent a text to Shiro saying he'd be working on homework with his friends.

Of course, he knew he'd be doing anything but.

Keith stowed his bike in the Holt’s shed, and had barely made it to the front door when Pidge opened the door and dragged him inside.

“What's up, Pidge?”

“We need you to test the suit. And these webshooters.” Pidge handed him two small devices. “These go on your wrists. You'll press these triggers to shoot out the webs.”

“How far do they shoot?”

“We don't actually know.” Keith gave Hunk a bewildered look. “Well, we made it, and theoretically it works, but we can't work it ourselves. The triggers are too hard for us to push down, but with your super strength, it should be a cinch.”

Keith gave the web shooters a look of distrust. “Alright, I'll try it.”

He got changed, this time with the additions of the web shooters and his fingerless leather gloves.

“What's with the extra gloves?” Hunk asked.

“More protection when I punch people. Assuming that I'll be punching people.”

Hunk nodded. “Makes sense.”

“Plus, it makes you look more badass,” Pidge added. “Alright, do you have your earpiece in?”

Keith tapped his right ear. “Yep. And it's on.”

“Great. Hunk, give it a test.”

Hunk placed a similar earpiece in his ear. “Can you hear this?”

“Yes, because you're standing right next to me.”

Hunk went down the hall. “How about now?”

“Loud and clear.”

“Good. Your tracker is in the seam of your pants, and it's covered in electrical tape, so if you get it wet, it's no big deal.” Pidge gave Keith a final once-over, and put in her own earpiece. “I think you're good to go.”

“IS HE LEAVING?!”

“Argh! Hunk, earpiece!”

“Sorry. Bye, Keith. Be careful.”

“Will do.” Keith took a deep breath, then went out the door.

He looked down the streets. “Now what?”

“Wander around, find crime. I don't know. Maybe I'll hack a police scanner.”

“Pidge, that's illegal!”

“Only if the cops catch us.”

Keith proceeded down the street before turning into an alley. He eyed the webshooters. “I'm going to try out these gadgets."

“Okay, be careful. If they explode, don't leave them. I can salvage them.”

He ignored Pidge's comment, instead aiming at the alley wall. He pressed the trigger with his middle fingers, and a strand of webbing shot out, one end sticking to the wall, the other under his fingers. Keith gave the web a tug. "Guys, this is amazing!"

"Really? How's the synthetic web? I tried to make it proportionally the same in regard to strength as compared to regular spider webbing, so it should be able to support you."

"Make a web!" Hunk chanted.

Keith aimed at the top of the alley, and used the new strand to climb up. From the rooftop, he could see stretches of the city for miles. "Wow."

"What? What's happening?"

"Sorry, guys, I'm just looking at this view. I forgot you can't see." Keith looked down at the webs in the alley. "Should I be cleaning this up?"

"Nope, it'll dissolve in a couple hours, thank god. Otherwise, my room would be a mess." He heard Pidge typing on her laptop. "Keith, you gotta get moving. You're only a block away. Crime isn't going to come to you."

"Right." Keith turned and ran to the opposite edge of the roof. "I have an idea." "Uh oh." Hunk sounded hesitant. "Is this another 'I'm going to do something dangerous that will put me in the hospital again' idea?"

"Probably." Keith took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing," he said as he jumped off the roof.

As he fell, he shot one strand of web to an apartment down the block. He used his momentum from jumping to swing on the web, while shooting another strand with his open hand. By repeating this, he easily made it downtown in ten minutes.

"Damn, Keith, you're really moving!" Pidge said. "What are you doing?"

"You know Tarzan?"

Hunk snorted. "Duh!"

"I'm swinging on webs instead of vines."

"Spider-Tarzan!" Hunk crowed. Pidge was cackling in the background.

The combination of adrenaline and his friend's excitement had Keith grinning so hard his face hurt. He whooped with joy as he swung around the city.

Of course, he had to stop eventually.

Keith heard a girl scream. He paused, listening to see if she was having fun or in peril.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" It was the same voice.

"Guys, I think I've got something."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger? Kind of?  
> I promise we'll see actual Spidey action in the next chapter. Someone's getting punched for sure!  
> (Probably Keith)  
> Anyway, sorry for the slightly long gap in updates, I was on a vacation, but now I'm hoping I'll be able to knock out a few more chapters in the next week or so.  
> I also made a tumblr if anyone wants to talk to me! Find me at [leggyboyblue](https://leggyboyblue.tumblr.com)! It's still a work in progress, but I'll start posting my old works there as well as maybe taking requests ;) (But we'll see about that)  
> As always, thanks for reading!


	6. Spiderman Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I, uh, I'm called..."
> 
> "Spiderboy!" Pidge hissed.
> 
> "Man-Spider!" Hunk declared.
> 
> "Spiderman. I mean Boy-Spider! I mean-" Keith groaned. He could hear Pidge and Hunk groaning as well. _Fuck, I can't even get my name right._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Warning for slight non-con elements***

Keith swung towards the scream, determined to make it in time. Before anything bad could happen.

Hoping he wasn't already too late.

He landed on a rooftop, and peered into the alley. A clearly drunk man was pinning a woman to the wall. She was struggling, still shouting for help.

"Keith, what's going on?" Hunk sounded concerned.

"I'm going in."

"Keith, wait!"

He ignored Hunk, opting to crawl down the wall before landing on the ground.

The woman shrieked again, but this time, it was directed towards Keith.

"I get it, you don't see a guy spider-crawling every day."

His comment got the man's attention. "Hey, you. Leave us 'lone, we're busy."

Keith shrugged. "I can't." He shot a web at the man's hand.

"The fuck?" 

He yanked the web towards him, shoving the man into the wall behind him, and used his remaining web to stick him to the wall. He then turned to the woman, who was sitting on the ground against the wall, mouth open in shock.

Keith offered her his hand. "Are you alright, ma'am?"

She yanked herself up with one hand, and used her other hand to punch Keith square in the jaw. 

"What the hell?!" Keith rubbed his jaw as he watched her run away. "I just rescued you!"

The man stuck to the wall chuckled. "Them fiesty ones're real fun."

Keith responded by knocking him out.

"Hunk, Pidge, you there?"

"Of course. Where'd you get punched?"

"Jaw." He massaged the area some more. "I'm about ready to call it quits."

"Oh, Keith, sweet Keith. The night is still young." Pidge was typing some more. "Crime is just beginning to creep out."

Keith groaned. "Well, do you have anything specific? Because I'm not in the mood to wander around."

"Oooh oooh I got something!" Hunk said. "There's a robbery in progress at First National Bank, it's on the news!"

"Where is that?"

"Go towards Elm Street and take a right, then keep going until you hit 3rd Avenue. Then-"

"Pidge, maybe wait until I get there!"

With Pidge's navigation and his webshooters, he made it there in ten minutes. The bank was surrounded by police barricades, with reporters and news vans behind them. A crowd of civilians had gathered as well.

"Guys, is there any way I can get in there without being seen?"

"Hold on, I'm looking." Hunk paused. "On the roof, there's a vent that should lead inside the main room, where some hostages are being held. Keith, please be careful. These guys have guns."

"I'll do my best." Keith swung onto the roof of the bank. When he didn't hear any shouting directed towards him, he webbed the cover on the vent and slid in headfirst. He paused, listening for voices. Someone was talking down and to the left, so Keith headed that way.

He found another vent covering, and when he looked through, he could see three men throwing cash into duffle bags. Keith gulped. All three were easily twice his size, and about a head taller.

_Well, here goes nothing._

Keith punched out the vent cover, and flipped onto the floor.

"What the fuck is that?" one goon asked, gawking at Keith.

Another one pulled out a pistol. "Keep loading!" he barked. He aimed for Keith's gut.

A strange tingling took up residence in the back of his head, and he felt the urge to jump left. Keith webbed the wall to his left and swung out of the way before he could get shot. The bullet lodged into a safe.

"The hell?" The man with the gun eyed the webbing before aiming again.

Keith webbed the gun, threw it into the open safe, and dodged a punch from the now unarmed goon. He grabbed his arm and effortlessly flipped him onto the ground. He also punched him in the face for good measure.

"One down, two to go." He glanced at the remaining goons, who were sharing uncertain looks. Keith smirked under his mask before webbing one's leg and dragging him across the floor.

He didn't take into account the other goon, who was now charging him. Keith scrambled for something to fight with as he tried to dodge punches and kicks while continuing to drag the other man around.

_Wait, that's it!_ Keith lifted the man he was dragging and threw him into his companion, knocking both of them out. He webbed them up for good measure.

Keith let out a breath. "Guys, where to next?"

"Out the door to the right. Are you still good, Keith?"

"Wow, Pidge, you're actually concerned?" Keith chuckled at her indignant gasp. "Kidding! But I'm fine. A little banged up, but I'm good."

"Great, because there's people in there who need your help."

Keith ran out the door and down a hallway. "Am I going the right way?"

Sudden gunfire told him yes.

He ducked behind a pillar before peeking out at his surroundings. Five men with guns stared back at him.

"Who the hell are you? A cop?"

Keith snorted. "In a pair of sweatpants? Are you a complete idiot?"

The comment earned him another round of gunfire.

Once it subsided, Keith tried to think. He had no idea how many hostages there were, or if the robbers would try to harm them if he interfered.

_I could always crawl on the ceiling. That seems to freak people out._

Keith began crawling up the pillar, and reached the ceiling in no time. However, he noticed that things were too quiet. No one was talking. He strained his ears before he heard nearly silent footfalls moving towards his pillar.

A man peeked around the pillar. "The hell?"

"Shoot 'im, ya dumbass!"

The man turned to face his companions. "He's gone!"

_Not for long,_ thought Keith. He webbed the man's gun first, securing it to the pillar beside him. Then, he webbed the man's back and hoisted him up, sticking him to the pillar as well.

"I don't know how strong this stuff is, so I wouldn't struggle if I were you."

A bullet hit the ceiling near Keith's head, making him flinch and lose his grip.

"Shit!" He used a web to slow his fall, and ended up slamming into the pillar with his right side. "Okay, now I'm mad!" Keith made a dash for the pillar across from him, webbing two other goons in the process. He crawled up the new pillar, and when the gunfire died down, he webbed the remaining men from his position. He didn't hear any gunfire after that, so he assumed he was in the clear.

Keith dropped to the ground, wincing at the ache in his side. Five robbers were webbed up around the bank. That was a success in his book.

_But what about the hostages?_

He walked towards the counters, and saw about fifteen people, including bank employees, rising from their positions on the ground. A security guard noticed Keith, and shouted "Get down! There's one more!"

"No! I mean, I'm not one of them. I stopped them." Keith gestured to the webbed up men behind him.

"Well, I'll be damned." An older man, clearly a civillian, gave Keith a smile. "They're covered in webs! Who are you?"

Keith glanced at the small group that gathered in front of him. "I, uh, I'm called..."

"Spiderboy!" Pidge hissed.

"Man-Spider!" Hunk declared.

"Spiderman. I mean Boy-Spider! I mean-" Keith groaned. He could hear Pidge and Hunk groaning as well. _Fuck, I can't even get my name right._

"Thank you, Spiderman."

"You saved our lives!"

"God bless you."

"Thank you!"

Keith nodded, smiling under the mask. "You're welcome, but I gotta go." He gave an awkward wave, then took off down the hallway, back to the vent he entered through. "Okay, Pidge. Get me outta here."

"You got it, Spiderman."

* * *

At Pidge's house, Keith got out of his costume and checked himself over for damage. He had a big bruise on the right side of his ribcage, as well as on his hip. Everything else, including the punch to his jaw, seemed to have healed already. He pulled his shirt on and left the bathroom.

"How're you doing?" Hunk asked. "Did you get hurt?"

Keith shrugged. "Just my side. Everything else healed."

"That's good. You know what else is good? Spiderman." Hunk grinned at Keith. "It's the perfect mashup of my name and Pidge's. Genius!"

Pidge walked in with a bag of potato chips. "You called?"

"Ha ha, hilarious. But for real, is Keith the greatest or what?"

"I don't know if I'd go that far, but he was definitely badass, from what I could hear."

"Thanks, guys. Also, thanks for not talking over the comms while I was fighting."

"Honestly, we were too busy trying to figure out what was happening during the fights to talk much." Hunk ate a handful of chips. "We weren't too worried."

Pidge snickered. "Yeah, right! You were practically pulling your hair out!"

Hunk scowled. "At least  _I_ was somewhat concerned."

Keith smiled. "I appreciate it, you guys." He winced as he sat on the couch.

Pidge frowned. "Are you okay?"

Keith smirked. "Aw, you  _do_ care."

"Shut up!"

* * *

"Pidge, what's a vector again?"

Pidge groaned. For the remainder of the night, Keith had forced Hunk and Pidge help him with his homework, since they'd finished theirs during his adventures.

"Something something direction and magnitude." Keith scowled at her. "Dude, I'm already braindead and exhausted. You can figure it out."

"Yeah, well, you weren't being shot at, were you?" Pidge grabbed his notebook and scribbled the answer. "Thanks," Keith yawned. He let himself zone out, staring blankly at the TV. It was on to make sure nothing was broadcasted that could alert Shiro to Keith's new hobby.

"Earth to Keith!" Keith jumped.

"Huh?"

Hunk sighed. "Dude, you're exhausted. Go home before you can't ride your bike and crash."

Keith glanced at his phone. It was after 11. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I am. See you tomorrow!"

Keith climbed onto his motorcycle, and rode home.

His house was dark when he walked through the front door. 

"Shiro?"

He didn't hear anyone. 

_Is he sleeping?_ Keith ran upstairs, but found Shiro's room empty. 

He pulled out his phone.

_**Keith:**_ Working late?

Shiro didn't respond right away. Keith shrugged. It wasn't unusual for Shiro to get wrapped up in a project and forget to text him. Knowing him, he'd be there in the morning, sleeping in for once.

Keith let out a yawn. Superhuman or not, his energy was all but gone.

The second his head hit the pillow, he was lights out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could I have ended the chapter any cheesier? Probably not.  
> I wrote that final line at 1:30AM and it shows.  
> But heeeeey, Keith's finally Spiderman! Things are picking up! Angst is on its way!  
> (At least, I think it is.)  
> Thanks, as, always, for reading! And for those of you who've left comments and kudos, thank you!! I love you all!
> 
>  
> 
> (I wrote this at 1 AM. I'm sorry. Tired me is basically drunk.)


	7. Highs and Lows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Shiro's going to kill me."
> 
> "No he's not, I doubt he'll see this. He doesn't go on YouTube much, does he?"
> 
> "Pidge, 'Real Life Superhero Stops Bank Robbery' has over 2 million views. And look-" Hunk held up his own phone. "Four thousand likes. This is going viral whether we like it or not."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Heads up:** there is a panic attack in this chapter.

The next morning, Keith woke up without a sore side. _Thank god for my super healing, otherwise Shiro would kill me._ He headed towards Shiro's room to make sure he came home.

Sure enough, he was fast asleep, his prosthetic arm plugged into the wall.

Keith took the opportunity to run downstairs and check the news. Nothing about Spiderman caught his eye, and he sighed with relief. He was in the clear for another day.

Then school happened.

"Keith, you gotta see this." Pidge handed him her phone.

Cell phone footage of the bank robbery filled the screen. Keith watched in horror as he saw himself ducking behind pillars and webbing goons. They even got him fucking up his name before the video ended.

"Shiro's going to kill me."

"No he's not, I doubt he'll see this. He doesn't go on YouTube much, does he?"

"Pidge, 'Real Life Superhero Stops Bank Robbery' has over 2 million views. And look-" Hunk held up his own phone. "Four thousand likes. This is going viral whether we like it or not."

Sure enough, the video was all anyone wanted to talk about today.

"Dude was badass as hell!"

"He's just all, _thwip thwip thwip!_ "

"I literally went to First National the day before, I can't believe I missed it!"

"Spiderman's sooo cool, I mean, what do you think he looks like under that mask?" a particularly obnoxious girl asked during English.

"Doesn't matter, he's gay," Keith murmured to Pidge and Hunk.

Their table got in trouble for laughing during a lecture, but Keith thought it was worth it.

The only person who didn't seem to care about it was Lance.

During worktime, he poked Keith's shoulder with his eraser. Keith once again pulled his earbuds out.

"You never answered me yesterday. Who do you live with now?"

Keith shrugged. "I said it was complicated."

"I have until the bell to listen." Lance gave him a smile.

Keith felt breathless.  _Is that a flirty smile? No, no way. I'm reading into it too much. No one flirts about who your guardian is._

"Okay." Keith took a breath. "After my parents died, I lived with our family friends and their son for a few years. His parents died too, and I was passed around the foster care system until Takashi filed for guardianship over me, and I've lived with him since."

Lance was silent for a moment. "That sounds like it sucked."

"I'm fine, it doesn't bother me too much."

"So, who's Takashi?"

Keith blinked. "He was my adoptive brother, I mean, he still kind of is, but he's technically my guardian."

"Gotcha. His name sounds familiar. Did he graduate from here?"

"Yeah, Shiro graduated-"

"Holy _shit! The_ Shiro? Like, star running back Shiro?" Lance was leaning his hands on Keith's desk. "He's your guardian?!"

Keith shrugged. "Yeah."

"Dude, Shiro was a legend at my house! My sister Mari graduated with him, and when she was a manager for the football team, she would always come home and say 'Hermanito, Shiro caught the ball one handed and made a touchdown!' or some other incredible play. I think they were friends, but they didn't really hang out outside of school. And when the Lions made State, even Charlie watched the games on TV, and he thought he was great!"

Keith didn't catch much else of what Lance was saying, outside of family member names; those could come in handy later. He was too busy noticing the way Lance's eyes lit up when he was talking about his family. The way he talked with his hands didn't help either. Not that he was complaining. Lance McClain was talking to him like they were best friends, and that alone was enough to make Keith happy.

Of course, the bell rang in the middle of Lance's ramblings. Keith began packing away his notebook and calculator.

"Aw jeez, I'm sorry. This is the second day I've kept you from working."

"I don't mind, I like it when you talk." Keith froze. "I-I mean, I like talking to you! You're fun to listen to."

Lance chuckled. "That may be the first time anyone's said that."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Lance shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. "Most people hate my motormouth."

"Are you serious? How do they not find what you're saying interesting? I mean, I just learned half of your family's names!"

Lance stopped walking, and Keith finally noticed that they'd walked down to the bus doors without him realizing it. _No Nyma today, thank god._

"I gotta go catch my ride." He nudged Keith's shoulder with his own. "See you tomorrow!"

He walked off, leaving Keith with his hand touching the place their shoulders made contact.

"Yeah, see ya."

* * *

 Keith walked up the sidewalk to his house. He couldn't quite tell if Shiro's car was in the garage. Sometimes, after late nights at work, he took the next day off.

_Maybe today is one of those days._

Sure enough, Shiro was sitting at the table, typing on his laptop.

"Hey Shiro! You'll never guess what happened-"

Shiro shut his laptop harshly. He gave Keith a glare.

Keith felt his stomach drop.

_Shit._

"Y'know, Keith, I didn't take you for the kind of guy to act like a complete idiot."

Keith remained silent.

"I saw the video of you in the bank. How long before you were going to tell me about your new hobby?"

"I-"

"But the thing is, you _weren't_ going to tell me, were you? At least, not until you needed to." Shiro paused, his arms crossed. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I just want to help people," Keith said in a small voice.

"And get yourself killed in the process? Keith, those guys have guns and a disregard for human life, and you're wearing sweatpants!" 

"So what?!" Keith snapped. "I have superpowers now! They couldn't get me if they tried!"

Shiro stood up. "You're missing the point here. You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Maybe I don't care! I'm just trying to save lives."

That got Shiro silent. "You don't need to lay your life on the line just because you want to save people." His voice was quiet. Keith preferred it when Shiro was yelling.

Keith scoffed. "I remember saying something similar before you enlisted."

"I was an adult, I knew what I was doing!"

"Bullshit! You were eighteen! You thought you owed the world something-"

"And you don't think that?" Keith glared into Shiro's eyes. He glared right back. "If this is about me saying you should use your powers for something good, this isn't what I meant!"

"What the fuck was I supposed to do? Wait until I could join the army?"

"Go out for sports!"

"You know I can't do that," Keith said in a low voice.

"Maybe if you put a little effort in, you could! It's not hard to give other people a chance and make friends!"

Keith clenched his fists. "You know it's not that simple for me!" His voice shook more noticeably than he'd have liked.

Shiro was quiet for a moment. "This whole thing is about the fallout from my parents' death, isn't it?"

"It's not! I'm just thinking that if I save people, fewer kids are going to end up like me! If can save other people's families-"

"Yeah, well, you saving other people isn't going to bring either of our families back!"

Keith's eyes widened.

"Shit, I shouldn't have said that. Keith, I'm-"

"Fuck. You." Keith pushed past Shiro, and wiped his eyes on his way up the stairs.

_When did I start crying?_

He slammed his door shut. He was still breathing hard. _God, I fucked up._ He sank down next to his bed, resting his elbows on his knees and his head on his hands. _Shiro was pissed._

A sob escaped his lips. Jesus, he couldn't catch his breath. _Panic attack? No, I can't right now!_

Black dots lined his vision. _I should've never listened to Hunk and Pidge. Now Shiro hates me! Fuck, he's not going to want me around anymore._

Deep down, Keith knew that wasn't true, but in his panicked state, he couldn't help but assume the worst.

_He was right. I'm just a stupid kid who can't make friends because he's too hung up on his parents' death._

"Keith?" Shiro was right outside his door.

Keith froze for a moment. Then, his breath hitched.

"Keith, I'm coming in." Shiro opened the door and rushed over to Keith.

Keith shook his head as he let out another sob.

Shiro put his hands on Keith's shoulders. "You gotta calm down, buddy. I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said any of that."

"I-I c-can't!"

"Yes, you can. I know you can. Breathe with me. In," Shiro inhaled deeply. Keith tried to do the same, but his breathing kept hitching.

"And out," Shiro exhaled slowly. Again, Keith copied him, with shaky results.

"You're doing great. In..."

The two stayed there for what felt like hours until Keith's breathing evened out and he stopped crying.

Keith sniffled. "I'm sorry. I should've told you sooner."

"You probably should have." Shiro shifted in his spot on the floor. "I'm sorry for saying those things. That was uncalled for. However," Shiro turned to Keith, "I need you to understand that I care about you, and I don't want you to get hurt. I don't want to be afraid of losing you."

"So, you don't want to go through what I had to when you got wounded?"

Shiro subconsciously touched his prosthetic arm. "No, I don't.

Keith bit his lip. "I feel good when I save people. Because when I do, I know that their loved ones don't have to go through that. No one deserves that."

Silence fell between the two. Keith didn't move a muscle, partly because he felt too tired to do so, and partly because he didn't want to disrupt the quiet.

Shiro was the first to break the silence. "We'll talk more over dinner." He hauled himself up and headed toward the door, where he paused.

"You might want to wash your face. It'll make you feel better."

"I will."

Shiro nodded, and headed downstairs.

Keith shuffled into the bathroom, wetted a washcloth, and rubbed it over his face.

As usual, Shiro was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully that fight wasn't as awkward to read as it was to write. At first, I thought I rushed into Keith's panic attack, but emotions were running high, and sometimes the wrong thing being said is all it takes.  
> And I know the ending is a bit abrupt, but the next chapter will pick up right where things left off.  
> Thanks for reading!


	8. All In A Day’s Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro settled back in his chair. "I'll agree to let you keep this up. You can keep saving people, as long as you let me help."
> 
> "Define 'help'. You don't want to become a vigilante too, do you?"
> 
> "Of course not. I'll be behind the scenes, like Pidge and Hunk. You have to listen to me if I tell you to leave a situation that I think is too dangerous for you-"
> 
> "So, basically everything?"
> 
> Shiro frowned. "Anything within reason."

Shiro was setting the table when Keith came downstairs. "Do you want a fork or chopsticks?"

Keith cleared his throat. "What're we having?" His voice was a still a bit rough.

"Ramen."

"I'll take chopsticks."

Wordlessly, Shiro set chopsticks at both spots, then brought over the ramen. Both boys dug in, slurping up noodles. Keith noted that is was basic chicken ramen, not the spicy stuff Shiro usually made.

_He probably thought of my sore throat. Selfless hero makes a comeback._

"So," Shiro began. "I'm assuming Hunk and Pidge are aware of all this?"

Keith nodded. "It's mostly their idea. They took me to get a super suit."

Shiro snorted. "It looked like more of a Halloween costume than a super suit."

"Well, you're not wrong." Keith took another bite. "But Pidge and Hunk designed some equipment."

"Like what?"

"The web shooters, a tracking device, and an earpiece comms system. They've helped a lot."

"But your suit is still, what, a hoodie and sweatpants? That's not going to protect from a bullet." Shiro's voice was starting to become agitated.

"It doesn't need to. I've been able to dodge them. Probably those karate lessons," he said, trying to lighten the mood.

It didn't work. "You stopped taking lessons in fifth grade."

"Yeah, well, a lot of things changed in fifth grade." Keith poked at his ramen. "It's more than that, though. I think I have a sixth sense sort of thing."

"How so?"

Keith thought for a moment. "I get this sort of tingling in the back of my head, and I get urges to do things, like jump out of the way."

"That's pretty cool." Shiro gave Keith a small smile. "But, it's not going to work perfectly all the time. Like any of your other senses. Which is why I have a...proposal of sorts for you."

Keith raised an eyebrow. "What kind of proposal?"

Shiro settled back in his chair. "I'll agree to let you keep this up. You can keep saving people, as long as you let me help."

"Define 'help'. You don't want to become a vigilante too, do you?"

"Of course not. I'll be behind the scenes, like Pidge and Hunk. You have to listen to me if I tell you to leave a situation that I think is too dangerous for you-"

"So, basically everything?"

Shiro frowned. "Anything within reason." He began clearing away his dishes. "I might also be able to get you a better super suit."

That caught Keith off guard. "Wait, are you for real?"

"Mmhmm. I'm sure I could pull a few strings at work to get something done."

Keith joined Shiro at the sink. "Thank you, Shiro."

"You're welcome. Besides, I can see how much this means to you." He dried his hands with a towel. "So, are you going out tonight?"

"Yeah, as long as you're okay with it."

Shiro chuckled. "I don't think I could stop you if I tried. You'd just crawl out the window!"

"Not to mention the super strength."

"That too."

Keith jogged upstairs. "I'll show you the suit so you have something to base the new one on!"

"Sounds good."

Keith yanked his suit out of his backpack, sending his phone flying in the process. He caught it before it could hit the ground.

**_46 New Messages_ **

He groaned. _Of course Hunk and Pidge got worried._

_**Keith:** I'm fine, Shiro found out. he's okay with it. I'll talk to u guys in 5_

He made short work of getting the rest of his suit on, save for the mask, and ran back down.

"Here it is."

Shiro stood up from his spot on the couch. "Wow. That's...something."

"Kinda shitty?"

"You could say that." He started inspecting it. "Where's all the gadgets?"

"This-" Keith tapped his earpiece "-lets me talk to Hunk and Pidge. My tracker's sewn into my suit somewhere, and these-" he held out his wrists "-are the webshooters." 

Shiro nodded. "You really went all out with the spider theme, huh?" He gestured to the spider on Keith's chest.

"That was Pidge's idea." Keith pulled on his mask. "Are you done?"

"Let me take a picture," Shiro said, grabbing his phone. He snapped a few pics, then headed back to the couch. "Be safe out there."

"I will, don't worry."

"Oh, I'm gonna worry," Shiro muttered under his breath.

"I heard that."

Shiro cringed. "Right, sorry. Bye Keith. Don't stay out too late."

"I won't, _Dad_." Keith smirked before shutting the door. He made his way down the street and began swinging along the taller buildings. He almost missed a web when he turned his comms on.

"-EITH HOW ARE YOU ALIVE I THOU-"

"I WAS CONVINCED YOU WERE DONE FOR, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW I GET WHEN IM STRESSED OUT?!"

"Pidge, Hunk! Guys, I'm fine, I swear!"

"Yeah, well you could've told us that! I started stress eating!" 

"Sorry, Hunk. I'll let you know sooner next time. Anyway, what do you have for me?"

"Nothing so far, but we'll keep you posted." Pidge was typing on the keyboard. "Tuesdays just aren't good days for fighting crime. At least, according to these statistics."

Keith hummed in affirmation. "I'll head downtown to see what I can find."

He swung for a few more minutes before he was passing the bank he'd just fought in, then the children's museum a few blocks away, and then he was swinging under the elevated train.

"Alright, I'm officially downtown. You got anything for me?"

He heard Pidge sigh. "Not much. I would just circle around downtown for a while. You might find something down an alley-"

"Shh!"

"Did you just shush me?"

"Pidge, he probably wasn't talking to y-"

"Shh!"

"Excuse me?!"

"Sorry Hunk, I'm just trying to listen."

"What do you hear?" Hunk asked.

"Not sure. It sounded like metal crashing, but there weren't any tires squealing. And now I can hear sirens."

There was the sound of typing, then Hunk said "The train crashed."

"The one I was just under?"

"Yeah, one of the supports must've given out. You better get there fast."

"I'm on it." Keith swung back to the train tracks, then swung along beneath them until he found the site of the crash.

Hunk was right; one of the rustier support beams had given out, and the section of track on top of it had fallen as well, leaving a sizable gap. The train had stopped in time, but it was partly hanging off of the edge of the gap. First responders were already on site, evacuating the train.

Keith perched on top of a nearby building, making sure the paramedics were handling it. All went well, until Keith felt his heart skip a beat.

Lamce was being pulled out of the train. He was looking back into the train and talking. Judging by the size of the hand he was holding, he was babysitting. _Maybe one of his nieces or nephews?_

The moment Lance's foot touched solid ground, the train lurched backwards.

"NO!" Lance screamed. He tried to climb back into the train, but the paramedics held him back. "Let me go he needs help!"

”Keith, you gotta stabilize the train.” Hunk began pointing out where to web the train.

It creaked again, and Keith wasted no time swinging to the train. He webbed the back ends of it to buildings behind the crash, hoping it would hold. He swung up next to the paramedics and Lance, who looked shocked to say the least.

"Who's in there?"

"My nephew, Robbie. H-he's 8." Lance was on the verge of tears.

Keith nodded, and attached a web to a building, using it to rappel down the train car as gently as he could. Robbie was hiding behind a seat at the bottom. The boy gave a small whimper when Keith came into view.

"Robbie, that's your name, right?" Robbie nodded. "I'm here to help you, okay? Lance sent me."

"You know Lance?"

"Yeah, I just talked to him up there. He wanted me to come get you." Keith held his free hand out. "Can you grab my hand?"

Robbie shook his head. "The train's gonna fall if I do. A-and I already f-fell and h-hurt my arm."

"You see this?" Keith tugged on his web. "This isn't gonna fall, no matter what." The train groaned again. "Come on, Robbie. Grab my hand."

Robbie stretched his arm as far as he could, and Keith leaned over and grabbed it, tugging the boy off the seat and onto his hip. Robbie clung to him like his life depended on it. 

Which it did, as a matter of fact.

A horrible scraping sound echoed through the train car. Keith looked up in time to see the train come loose and begin falling away from the tracks. The door at the top of the train was rushing to meet Keith and Robbie. He had to make it through that hole. If he got through that, they were in the clear.

He felt like time had slowed down. Each inhale and exhale brought the door a little closer. Something in the back of his mind was telling him to wait, _wait before you move, just one more second-_

Keith pushed against the floor of the train, just enough to avoid hitting the bottom of the door, curled himself around Robbie, and willed his hand to stay stuck to the web. The train door whooshed past them and collided with the street below.

He waited until his heartbeat settled a bit before he looked up. He was okay. Robbie seemed okay, aside from his arm.

"Okay Robbie, I need you to hold onto me as tight as you can. Just until I climb up." He felt the boy's grip tighten once more, and only then did Keith feel okay with letting go of him. Keith climbed up slowly, being careful to only use his hands so he wouldn't jostle Robbie too much.

At the top, Keith passed Robbie to the paramedics. Lance ran over, sinking to his knees to hug Robbie.

”Thank god you’re okay,” he said between relieved sobs.

Keith observed the pair, a small smile on his face. 

“Excuse me, sir?” A paramedic was approaching Keith. “We can handle things from here.”

”Oh, uh, yeah, by all means.” Keith turned to leave.

”Spiderman?” Keith looked back at Lance, who was holding his nephew’s hand, eyes red from crying. “Thank you.”

Keith nodded. “All in a day’s work.”

”Oh my _god,_ Keith, that was _such_ a heroic thing to say!”

Keith swung away before mumbling a “shut the fuck up” to Pidge. He had a smile on his face and butterflies in his stomach for the rest of the way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!  
> It’s been a while, to say the least. Between applying to college, school, and everything else, I’ve been hella busy. I hope you guys understand. Hopefully I’ll be able to update this more often in the coming weeks.  
> I’m also super excited to announce that I’m participating in Voltron whumpmas in Tumblr! Starting Dec 12th, I’ll be posting a new one shot every day until the 23rd. Check out the event page here!  
> If you’re still reading all this, kudos to you!  
> Thanks for reading, I love you all!


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